AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Results of the U.S. midterms also created ripples around the world. To discuss the global impact of the election, we're joined now by NPR correspondents Charles Maynes in Moscow and Jennifer Pak in Beijing. Good morning to both of you.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning.
JENNIFER PAK, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: Charles, if we can start with you, how do you think President Putin will view the midterms?
MAYNES: Well, President Putin hasn't spoken directly about the results, but the wider Kremlin approach has been quite transparent, which is to continue actively engaging President Trump. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this week said Russia is sincerely counting on Trump to continue peace efforts in Ukraine and suggested those efforts had already made some progress, pointing to, for example, Melania Trump's humanitarian work. Also U.S.-led trilateral talks set to take place in Abu Dhabi next week. You know, contrast that with a senior Russian diplomat, the deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, who said Moscow has long viewed Democrats as holding intensely negative views of Russia, so it's obvious who they'd rather deal with.
RASCOE: And yet, though, that window of opportunity for dealing with Trump is closing.
MAYNES: True. And there's broad acknowledgment that Trump will face more scrutiny from Democrats, including over his dealings with Russia when it comes to Ukraine. You know, at the heart of Trump's recent negotiations with Russia has been this idea that cutting deals with Moscow by offering sanctions relief, for example, that that can unlock Russian concessions over Ukraine, whether that's a good bet or not - and the administration would argue it is working - the midterm results, ironically, may open Russia up to negotiations, simply because Moscow may want to cut a more favorable deal with Trump before this new Congress is seated in January. But, of course, the clock's ticking.
RASCOE: And, Jennifer, how is Beijing reacting?
PAK: Well, officially, China has been quite measured because, like President Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not going anywhere. So the big question, of course, is is any deal really going to stick with Trump, given that President Xi is really going to be looking for a fourth term next year? He's expected to. So given that being tougher on China is now a bipartisan issue, that question is up in the air.
The Chinese foreign ministry have said it's going to be business as usual, that China is willing to work with the U.S. on upholding what Trump and Xi had agreed upon in the earlier two summits this year, which is called the constructive strategic stability. It's quite a mouthful. But essentially, what it means is the two countries have acknowledged they're going to continue to compete, but that there should be some predictability or stability in the relationship.
RASCOE: Charles, we've talked about Russia, but I want to turn to Ukraine. How are the results seen there?
MAYNES: Yeah. You know, Ukraine is really the flip side of what we were talking about earlier. They're counting the days until this new Democratic-controlled Congress arrives because these incoming congressmen are seen as more sympathetic to Ukraine. It's a point made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: They don't try to balance between us and Russia. They don't afraid to say that Russia is aggressor. They don't want to give our land to Putin. And I think that based on such things, of course, we count on even more support.
MAYNES: You know, that said, Zelenskyy is clearly being careful not to antagonize Trump outright, aware, of course, that the president could make life very difficult for Ukrainians, even with the Democrats controlling Congress.
RASCOE: President Trump and President Xi are expected to meet later this month in China. What's likely to be on the agenda?
PAK: Well, we don't know yet, but this is essentially a trust-building exercise because, despite the pleasantries that have been exchanged between Trump and Xi and the warmth, the U.S. administration in between these summits have continually added more Chinese firms and individuals on blacklists. They've also banned, like, Chinese humanoids, drones from being imported into the U.S., while China, according to the U.S., continues to restrict the flow of rare earth to the U.S. and hasn't really followed through on his purchases of U.S. agricultural goods. So following through on the promises made in the last two summits is essentially going to be the goal.
We have heard they've made progress on lowering tariffs on $60 billion worth of goods flowing between the two countries. They've identified which items that are non-sensitive, and that might be easier to push through because of the cost of living became a key issue in the midterms. The areas that are much harder to negotiate on are, for example, Chinese investments in the U.S., the American stance on Taiwan and also guardrails on AI. But the purpose, according to Chinese analysts I've spoken to, of these summits is to build mutual trust because there is just so little right now between the U.S. and China.
RASCOE: And, Charles, the two leaders could be joined for the talks by President Putin. If that were to happen, how significant would that be?
MAYNES: Well, it could be hugely significant, at least when it comes to Ukraine. A few days ago, Trump held a meeting at the White House with the Kremlin's envoy, a man by the name of Kirill Dmitriev, after which Trump said the U.S. and Russia were closing in on a peace deal for Ukraine that could also impact all of Europe. Let's listen to Trump.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone's going to be thrilled.
MAYNES: Now, Trump has repeatedly overstated his abilities to end this war. But the idea that he and Putin, or perhaps with input from Xi, could negotiate some grand superpower bargain while cutting Ukraine and Europe out of the loop is a fear that's dogged Trump's peace efforts since he returned to office. I think the catch here is that it's even harder now to imagine Ukraine or, for that matter, Europe, accepting those terms, given the midterm results and what's left of Trump's time in office.
RASCOE: That's NPR correspondents Charles Maynes in Moscow and Jennifer Pak in Beijing. Thank you so much for joining us.
MAYNES: Thank you.
RASCOE: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF PURE X'S "YOU'RE IN IT NOW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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